memories of youth, she leans
on, a cane that hobbles and holds. A faded photo, yellowed,
her face puckers in whispers repeated
into creases around her lips.

this strange land she now
calls home, loveless, childless. counting

the treasures of her life. broken vows
and unkept promises
litter her bed. her mind had raged

but her body collapsed at injustice, weak
with grief.

and left with two children she could not care for? She sent
them to eternal sleep and fled

from home to home, bed to bed, subjected
to the will of men